A block of butter, plastic cutlery and just 10 minutes on the clock may not sound like the recipe for a crowd-pleaser, but at the Washburn County Fairgrounds in Spooner, Wisconsin, it proved to be the perfect dairy activity for June Dairy Month.
According to organizer and fair volunteer Linda Degner, she got the idea for the contest while attending a convention hosted by the International Association of Fairs and Expositions in Phoenix two years ago. There she connected with a representative from the Kansas State Fair who organized a similar competition.
“We shared contact information, and she sent me all her rules and regulations,” Degner says. “We discussed it and decided we would like to take it on here, a little differently than what they do, but with the same type of concept.”
The butter carving contest was added to the fair’s dairy breakfast event, which serves as a preview of sorts for the fair season. Because the fair’s dates fall after deadlines for several state fair qualifying contests, organizers host a number of early competitions during the breakfast to give participants a chance to qualify ahead of time.
A fast-paced challenge
The fair’s butter carving contest, now returning for its second year, was designed to be free, simple and entertaining.
Participants did not need to preregister. Instead, they signed up the morning of the event between 7:30 and 8 a.m. Youth contestants, those who were 16 and under, began carving at 8 a.m. followed by the adult division for ages 17 and older at 8:15 a.m.
Each competitor had just 10 minutes to carve a 1-pound block of butter into a sculpture. The contestants each received a small workspace and were provided plastic cutlery consisting of a fork, knife and spoon; a piece of string; a paper clip; and paper towels. With only those materials and a block of butter, participants created their designs before time ran out.
“It’s very fast-paced,” Degner says. “I think that adds to the whole excitement of it.”
Last year’s challenge gave contestants three design options: Swiss cheese, a milk carton or a glass milk bottle. Degner says they decided to keep the choices simple so participants could focus on carving instead of debating ideas.
“It was amazing to see what they came up with,” Degner says.
Alice in Dairyland, Halei Heinzel, judged the butter carvings on creativity, detail and overall design. Image provided by Linda Degner.
Judging the butter masterpieces
Degner invited Wisconsin’s Alice in Dairyland, Halei Heinzel, to evaluate the sculptures as a guest judge. The carvings were judged on three criteria: creativity, detail and overall design.
To present the finished sculptures, a local woodworker donated handcrafted cutting boards for each piece. Once contestants completed their sculptures, they placed them on the boards for judging.
The display not only looked polished but gave each sculpture its own stage.
“It gave it a very nice professional feel,” Degner says.
Local partnerships also played an important role in making the contest possible.
The National Farmers Organization supplied a case of 1-pound butter blocks for the competition, while Burnett Dairy Cooperative provided promotional prizes and gift cards for the winners in both divisions.
Extra butter didn’t go to waste either. During the event, Alice in Dairyland quizzed audience members with butter-related trivia, rewarding correct answers with additional butter blocks.
The room buzzed with laughter, chatter and playful competition. Degner says one memorable contestant entertained the crowd by eating every piece of butter he carved away from his sculpture.
“Anything he scooped, he put in his mouth,” Degner says with a laugh. “It was hilarious.”
Matt Vosberg teases the crowd and his butter with a playful lick. Image provided by Linda Degner.
A contest worth repeating
Although the event was new to the fair, its popularity surprised Degner.
“We’ve always put a lot of emphasis on our state fair contests,” Degner says. “But this one kind of blew it out of the water as far as how people reacted to it.”
That enthusiasm ensured the butter carving contest would return during June Dairy Month.
This year, organizers are introducing a new theme to match the fair’s “Barnyard Bash” celebration. Instead of dairy items, contestants will carve farm animals from their butter blocks.
The contest will also shift to cash prizes for the winners, while the National Farmers Organization will once again provide the butter.
For other fairs or events considering their own butter carving competition, Degner offers simple advice: embrace creativity and keep things easy.
“I say think of your craziest ideas that you think would be fun to do and put them out there,” Degner says. “People are really looking for things that are fun and interesting.”
Butter sculpting
The butter sculpting booth is a Midwest Dairy Minnesota State Fair exhibit sponsored by Minnesota’s nearly 1,800 dairy farmers. It’s one of the most popular attractions at the fair. On the first two days of the state fair, the newly crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way has her likeness sculpted in butter. The sculpting continues during the fair with the other Princess Kay finalists serving as models for butter sculptures. Each sculpture is carved from a 90‐pound bock of Grade AA butter, which is produced exclusively for this event by Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) in New Ulm. Artist and Minnesota native Gerry Kulzer is the resident butter sculptor. Butter sculpting at the state fair began as a way to highlight Minnesota’s claim as the “butter capital of the nation.” Various butter sculptures were featured at the Minnesota State Fair from 1898 through 1927. In 1965, the American Dairy Association of Minnesota began its tradition of having the likenesses of dairy princesses sculpted in butter and constructed the original booth. In 2008, Midwest Dairy unveiled a larger, more energy-efficient butter sculpting booth. Today, butter sculpting is a way to highlight the Princess Kay of the Milky Way program, one of Midwest Dairy’s programs for young leaders in the dairy industry. During her year-long reign, Princess Kay serves as a goodwill ambassador for Minnesota’s dairy farmers. She helps bring dairy to life for consumers and engages with the public about dairy’s nutritional stories and farmers’ commitment to environmental stewardship. Since its inception in 1954, more than 800 young dairy leaders have participated in the program as either Princess Kay or finalists.
Did you know …
- The temperature inside the rotating butter booth is 40 ̊F.
- A complete butter sculpture takes about six hours to complete.
- Butter sculpting as an art form began in the 1800s, when frontier women molded and imprinted their homemade butter.
Source: Midwest Dairy
Image courtesy of Midwest Dairy.
